Ready or Not

I thought back to Sam Raimi's films, the good ones that is, and I couldn't help but marvel at how much fun I was having. The bloody black-humor hide-and-seek can definitely surprise and thrill, and if it weren't for a few slightly weaker and more predictable parts (the escape into the woods), I wouldn't have much to complain about. Apart from Samara Weaving (unlike in Netflix's The Babysitter, she's the heroine this time around, and it occurs to me that the two films have a lot in common and would make an ideal program for an evening) and the other admittedly lesser known but great (to watch) actors, I have to single out Brian Tyler's music, which makes for just the right atmosphere at just the right moments. The scene of the ritual and the one after it are without exaggeration unforgettable. (09/03/2019)

Ready or Not was a delightful surprise, masterfully blending tension, gore, and humor. While it's packed with humor, it doesn't turn the plot into a complete farce. Instead, it adds a touch of levity that enhances the overall viewing experience. The storyline is well thought out, and the mythology introduced is genuinely intriguing. Initially, it seemed a bit bland, and I anticipated numerous shortcomings and plot holes. However, as the story progressed, these perceived flaws started to clear up, and everything fell into place, revealing a much more clever narrative than I expected. I doubted that the plot could sustain a full-length film, but the script had some tricks up its sleeve. Gradually, I found myself enjoying it more and more, with the ending being particularly satisfying. Ready or Not is a morbidly entertaining treat and a quality horror-comedy that's definitely worth watching. (09/10/2019)

A thoroughbred lightweight horror comedy, the kind of which we hadn’t had in a long time. The creators made up for the not entirely successful Devil’s Due and followed up on their segment in the first V/H/S anthology, where they first got on the radar a few years back. Ready or Not is a delightful joke that playfully makes use of its rather silly premise (which is perfectly suitable for a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously), a panopticon of crazy rich people and an extremely likeable heroine played by Samara Weaving. The result is a fast ride that is hard to resist. Personally, I wish it was a little bit wilder, sharper and nimbler (it is not as bloody as some mainstream commenters will try to tell you). But all those quibbles can be forgotten the moment the heroine gets going and starts adorably fucking everything up. I enjoyed it very much. (08/22/2019)

When two people do the same thing, the results of their efforts will differ depending on their respective levels of talent and life experience. Thus, while Ready or Not would like to be another Get Out, as the promotional materials emphatically make clear, it can never have that film’s sting. The grievances of one ethnic group and the phantasmagorical delusions of the privileged social class are not revealed here. Rather, only a group of well-to-do people make fun of rich people within the limits of the genre. Thanks to that, Ready or Not works great as arelief valve for the frustrated workers of our capitalist reality, but it characteristically does not open up its subject in any way or contain any overlap into everyday reality. Above all, however, it does not open anyone’s eyes. It’s just an amusing episodic film in which, instead of the monstrosity in the human heart or the gears of the predatory system, we can only see our own need to simply find festive relief in a properly explicit lynching. (01/05/2020)

A decent, inventive slasher, which turns an ordinary family dinner into something you won’t forget easily. Moreover with the lead role of the bride played by the fair Samara Weaving, who has witchcraft, fear and mysteriousness already in her name. Even though nothing that happens in the film is actually her fault. (02/28/2020)